Court Square Capital Clears $2.2B On Fund III: UPDATED, CORRECTED

Court Square Capital Partners has raised more than $2.2 billion in commitments for its third fund, for which the firm is trying to raise $3 billion, Buyouts reported earlier today, citing an investor in Court Square Capital funds.

The firm should wrap the fundraise by the end of the year, the source said.

Court Square Capital invests in a variety of industries, including business services, industrials, technology and telecommunications, building products, chemicals, consumer products, and food products. It typically cuts equity checks of $50 million to $300 million in return for a controlling stake in companies with enterprise values of at least $50 million.

The firm’s most recent deals include two exits.

Earlier this month, Court Square Capital agreed to sell SGS International Inc., a provider of graphic design services for consumer products packaging, to Onex Corp. In July, it sold Mosaic Sales Solutions Holding Co., a marketing company for brands and retailers, to Acosta Inc. for $300 million. It’s most recent acquisition also appears to have come in May, when it bought PRV Aerospace LLC, a supplier of components and assembly products for aircrafts.

At its target the latest fund, Court Square Capital Partners III LP, would be roughly the same size as Court Square Partners II LP, a $3.1 billion pool of capital the New York-based firm raised in 2007. Court Square Capital investors have included AlpInvest Partners, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Minnesota State Board of Investments, according to the Dow Jones Directory of Alternative Investments.

Former members of Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners, including Managing Partners Bill Comfort, Michael Delaney, and Thomas McWilliams, formed Court Square Capital in 2006. (UPDATE: Delaney along with Managing Partners David Thomas, Joe Silvestri, Ian Highet and John Weber are the most active firm executives today.) The firm has invested more than $4.5 billion in more than 150 transactions, which have returned $14 billion, according to the firm’s Web site. The firm employs about 30 investment professionals.

An executive at Court Square Square did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

(CORRECTED: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Court Square Capital recently agreed to sell ASP Westward LP and Anvil Holdings Inc., siting the Capital IQ database. The context of the story discussing its recent deals has been changed to reflect this.)

Bernard Vaughan is a senior editor at Buyouts Magazine. Follow his tweets @BVaughanReuters. Follow Buyouts tweets @Buyouts.

Image credit: Court Square Capital